On Friday Dick Van Dyke Says Mary Poppins Author Hated Him and Julie Andrews was a top story. Here is the recap: (TMZ) The author who created "Mary Poppins" had a spoon full of HATRED for everyone affiliated with her movie ... this according to "Poppins" star Dick Van Dyke.

DVD -- who played Bert in the 1964 classic -- was out in Malibu this week ... and told TMZ he was super-excited about Tom Hanks playing Walt Disney in an upcoming movie about the making of "Mary Poppins."

But Dick explained ... there was some MAJOR DRAMA behind the scenes, telling us author P.L. Travers -- who created the Mary Poppins children's books -- battled Disney for 20 years before begrudgingly allowing him to make the film.